The new supernatural horror film The Strange House (aka The Scary House) is one of those many predictable haunted house tales but with a good vibe with kids playing the lead. Based on the children’s book by Martina Wildner, it is a German-language movie from Austria with the original title Das schaurige Haus.
Directed by Daniel Prochaska, this young adult horror-thriller has a very simple storyline that follows a family with mother Sabine (Julia Koschitz) and her two kids: elder son Hendrik (León Orlandianyi) and young Eddi (Benno Rosskopf). When they move to a remote town, they experience some ghostly presence because of an unfortunate incident attached to the house.
The ghost in the house soon starts possessing Eddi that pushes Hendrik to get to the bottom of the eerie past of the scary house. He is helped by two of his fearless friends: Fritz (Lars Bitterly) and Ida (Marii Weichsler) and they soon go on to solve the scary secret that haunts their home.
The Strange House is one of those films that everyone can watch with family. While for more ardent horror movie buffs this might be a little disappointing with not much scare in play, it is indeed worth watching for its overall entertainment value. Particularly, the performance of all the young artists here is praiseworthy.
While it is true that we have been watching loads of haunted house films in the last few years and many are even available on Netflix, the fact that it’s an international production makes it even more interesting, as we don’t watch that many clichés attached to regular English language horror films.
While the comic elements add more fun to the narration, it is very beautifully embedded with individual characters, as in the case of Fritz played by Lars Bitterly. Similarly, creepiness comes with personalities such as the character played by Michael Pink or the old lady who is spotted outside the house at night.
Overall, The Strange House is fun to watch and we will recommend this to everyone. At the same time, we would like you to suggest some other Austrian or German horror films if you are aware of any good horror films made by filmmakers from that part of the world.
Film: The Strange House
IMDB Title: The Scary House
Director: Daniel Prochaska
Starring: León Orlandianyi, Benno Roßkopf, Julia Koschitz, Marii Weichsler, Lars Bitterlich, Michael Pink, Inge Maux, Elfriede Schüsseleder, Michael Somma, Finn Reiter, Markus Stubeier, and Luca Streussnig.
Writer: Marcel Kawentel, Timo Lombeck, Alarich Lenz
Producer: Gerald Podgornig, Thomas Hroch
Where to watch The Scary House (2020)
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